


In the Shadows of the Mind

by East_Of_Akkala



Category: Final Fantasy VI
Genre: Angst, Cyan needs a hug, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Mild FFVI spoilers, Post-DOMA, Post-Wrexsoul, So much talking, Talking, Terra Needs A Hug, Terra always needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-11 10:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20544641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/East_Of_Akkala/pseuds/East_Of_Akkala
Summary: Doma Castle did a number on a few members of the group. The Figaro brothers help pick up the pieces.





	In the Shadows of the Mind

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by my completion of the Doma Castle event with Terra, Edgar, and Sabin along for the ride with Cyan.

“Well, that wasn’t fun,” Sabin said quietly to his brother as they walked back to the _Falcon_.

“No,” Edgar agreed. “And that was just the two of us. I hope Cyan and Terra…” he trailed off, subtly indicating the other two.

Sabin nodded. The two were in single file behind them, Cyan‘s hand on the sword at his side in a vicelike grip and Terra white as a sheet, arms around her body and eyes downcast.

Doma Castle had been one of the more difficult things Sabin had endured since Kefka had destroyed the world. He’d done many of those, too, in the days before Celes had found him. Seeing his friend’s nightmares brought to life had been difficult; knowing the pain he was in was perhaps even worse. And Terra…something was bothering her; what it could be he wasn’t sure. She was sweet, for sure, but he still knew little about her beyond that she had trouble with her emotions.

“She was a Magitek Armor pilot,” Edgar suddenly spoke up. Sabin stopped and glanced at him. It was bizarre that even now, separated by eleven years of distance, the two had retained some of their telepathy.

“Oh,” was all Sabin could say in response. Now he understood; Locke and Edgar had told him in broad strokes about Terra’s enslavement at the hands of the empire before. Celes had said little about her beyond expressing her guilt that she herself had done nothing. To have herself forcibly brought back to that experience by Cyan’s nightmares, something he was sure it had taken her a long time to process, could not be doing much for her state of mind. "We should do something," he said next, ever discontent with just sitting back. 

“I’ll talk to her if you talk to him,” Edgar offered.

“Of course you’d pick the ‘her,’” the monk remarked with a small smirk.

“Especially If it’s Terra,” agreed Edgar softly. “I’ll see you in a moment.” He turned and walked back, towards Terra, who didn’t seem to notice until he greeted her, resting a hand on her shoulder and saying a few words Sabin couldn’t hear. He watched them for a moment before turning away; something about the way that Edgar had spoken about her to Sabin had him certain that Terra was quite special to Edgar. She would be okay. 

Well. He supposed he'd have to talk to Cyan. 

It was odd how little he felt he knew the other in spite of their travels together before the world had ended. Cyan was naturally quite stoic, very closed off, while Sabin had no such reservation. In the end, though, he respected Cyan's loyalty to his kingdom, and to his family. Not unlike his brother's best characteristics, then, he realized as he reflected. Odd that he'd not made that connection before now. 

...now he really had to talk to Cyan and make sure he was okay. 

The monk slowed his pace until Cyan caught up with him. The other gave a small nod in Sabin’s direction.

“Is there anything I can do? I want you to feel better,” Sabin began bluntly as they kept walking. He had lost a lot of the tact he and Edgar had learned together as children from his ten years of relative solitude. But the twins alike had always had a certain kindness to them that no solitude could ever dampen.

Cyan continued to walk, but tacitly gestured his allowance for Sabin to walk next to him. He lowered his head, face and eyes faraway, closed off as ever. Not that Sabin blamed him, even if it made helping him more difficult. It just meant he'd need to be stubborn.

“Thou needst not worry about me, Sir Sabin,” the retainer pointed out stalwartly. “I have dealt with my fears.”

“You don’t need to lie to me, you know,” Sabin pushed kindly, but firmly. “I don’t doubt you’ve dealt with your fears. It’s your guilt I’m worried about. I’m here to help, if you want.”

"I cannot see thee having much experience with such matters."

_Oh, you don't wanna go there,_ Sabin thought, images of father figures torn from him and brothers he'd failed, of the world breaking to pieces while he stood helpless. But at least he was helping now.

"Well, at least I can talk to you," he offered, deciding not to bring up his own guilt. He could work on that in his own time.

“I see no reason to talk about such things, if they hath passed.”

“You’re still sad, though,” Sabin offered. “At least, it seems like it." 

“‘Tis true,” sighed Cyan after a few moments of silence. “I still feel I hath failed my kingdom, and my family alike.” His voice trembled at the last line.

“What could you have done?”

“I know not, which bothers me most.”

Sabin nodded. Maybe sharing his own experiences with guilt _would_ help after all. “I guess I know the feeling. When father died, Edgar and I were beside ourselves. And then Duncan…” he stopped and exhaled slowly, thinking of his other father figure. “I didn’t know what to do either. I was sure there was something to be done, and yet I just couldn’t—“ here he made a fist.

“I had heard thy father died of natural causes,” Cyan put forth.

“That’s what it seemed. All the same, he got very sick very quickly, and he was a healthy man. Edgar and I suspected something else was going on. No one wanted to open an investigation, though.” The last was said with a bit of savagery. The wound was old but deep. “Either way, I guess nothing could be done. It seems you couldn’t have done anything either. Celes told me about what went down on the Floating Continent. Kefka’s just unstoppable.” He shuddered in spite of himself. Some he’d met on his journeys had sworn the new world overlord always knew when he was invoked. “First Doma, then…” he finished, trailing off. Then the world went unspoken. Doma had been but an omen, an omen for the horrible destruction that was to come.

Cyan listened to him, face solemn. “I appreciate what thou art trying to do,” he said. “It shall take a while for me to see things with a rational mind again, but when that happens, I shall talk to thee again.”

“Oh, don’t wait so long!” Sabin gently punched him on the arm. “We’re still on the same quest, aren’t we? It would be a drag to not hear you talk to me in that long.”

“I did not mean such a—oh. Thou wert in gest.”

“Yep!” The monk smiled.

A sound from behind had the two both whirling to see what had happened. Sabin realized that the sound they had heard was a cry from Terra, who now had her head buried in Edgar’s chest. Even from a distance, Sabin could see her shoulders were shaking. Edgar, for his part, was simply holding her. Sabin had no doubt he was murmuring words of comfort from the way his face was tucked into her hair.

“What has bothered Terra?” asked Cyan worriedly.

“In thy—your dream,” Sabin began, privately wondering why Cyan’s weird way of speaking was so catchy anyway, “we all piloted magitek armor. She did that in service to the empire while under their control.”

Cyan said nothing, but lowered his head. “So I hath inadvertently harmed her too,” he said mournfully.

“Don’t give me that,” Sabin brushed him off quickly. “Be mad at the empire for doing that to her. It’s not your fault, it’s theirs.”

“All the same, I—“

“Edgar’s taking care of her. She’ll be alright.” That wasn’t just brotherly affection talking; Sabin knew for all of Edgar’s bluster, he’d made a fine king. Sabin had watched him rescue their people recently, just before finding Setzer, the care with which he’d encouraged people to hang on just moments longer while he fixed the engines. Terra was in fine hands indeed.

He just hoped he could do as well for his teammate.

“Let’s get back to the Falcon,” he offered at last.

“And if there are monsters? Should we not protect King Edgar and Lady Terra?” Cyan protested.

“Nah. They’re big kids.” Seeing a Greater Mantis approaching the two, jaws clicking, however, quickly changed his mind. “On second thought…how ‘bout you show me some of that Bushido you’ve been working on?”

“As long as thy show me thy blitzes.”

Sabin smiled as the two chased it down to engage, to give Cyan a chance to put his training to good use helping others (and perhaps giving him a chance to help himself, if he saw his worth), to give Terra a respite a moment longer to just rest, to give Edgar a break from protecting them…

So long as they all had each other’s backs, things would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave your thoughts at the end. Thank you for reading!


End file.
